Darian DeVries, the 2018-19 and 2020-21 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, enters his sixth season as the head coach of the Drake men’s basketball program.
The 2022-23 preseason favorite Drake Bulldogs captured the 2023 State Farm MVC Tournament title to go dancing in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Tucker DeVries was named Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year while Roman Penn (All-MVC First Team), Garrett Sturtz (All-MVC Third Team), Conor Enright (MVC All-Freshman Team), Darnell Brodie (MVC Most Improved Team) and Sardaar Calhoun (All-MVC Bench Team) were all recognized with conference postseason awards.
DeVries has won 122 games, the most of any five-year period in school history and marking the only time in program history that Drake has recorded five-straight 20-win seasons.
Drake appeared in its fourth postseason tournament during his five-year coaching tenure. DeVries guided the Bulldogs to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He also led Drake to the 2019 CIT as well as the College Basketball Invitational in 2022.
Tucker DeVries (MVC Freshman of the Year, All-MVC Second Team), Garrett Sturtz (All-MVC Second Team), Roman Penn (All-MVC Third Team) and D.J. Wilkins (MVC All-Defensive Team) all earned All-MVC recognition during the 2021-22 season.
DeVries got Drake back into the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and helped the Bulldogs to their first tournament victory in 50 years when they beat Wichita State, 53-52, in the First Four game.
Of the 10 20-win seasons in program history, five have come under DeVries, including 27 wins in 2022-23, the most since 28 in 2008.
During his second season he guided the Bulldogs to the program’s second-straight 20-win season which marked the first time since 1971 the program had won 20 or more games in consecutive seasons and just the third time it had occurred in program history.
The 2019-20 season ended in the MVC Tournament semifinals for the second-straight season as the Bulldogs clipped No. 1 seed UNI in the quarterfinals to become the first No. 8 seed to upend a No. 1 seed in tournament history.
That team set a school record for blocks in a season with 132, surpassing the mark of 130 set in his first season. Additionally, the 2019-20 team’s 237 three-pointers were the eighth most in season. The team recorded 279 three-pointers in his first season at the helm, the fourth-most in Drake history.
The longtime assistant from Creighton took the reins of the Bulldog program in March, 2018, and inherited a roster with just one returning starter and three returning contributors. He quickly assembled a talented roster and let that squad to its first regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title since 2008 and the program’s 12th all-time postseason appearance.
Under his guidance, the Bulldogs led the Valley in scoring at 75.4 points per game to rack up 24 wins and record the program’s sixth 20-win season and third most wins in school history.
DeVries’ first recruiting class at Drake included a junior college All-American, graduate transfers with all-conference pedigrees, a 7-footer and international talent. That roster eventually earned eight All-MVC honors, including MVC Defensive Player of the Year Nick McGlynn.
His first team began the season by winning the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic to conclude the non-conference schedule with a 12-4 record before amassing a 12-6 mark in conference action.
Before taking over the Bulldogs’ program, DeVries was an assistant coach at Creighton University for 17 years and spent 20 total seasons on staff with the Bluejays. During that span, he helped guide the Bluejays to 19 postseason appearances and 12 NCAA Tournament berths.
DeVries was one of the longest-tenured men’s basketball assistant coaches at one school in the nation and assisted the Bluejays in their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years before earning the Drake position. During his time on the Creighton staff under both Dana Altman and Greg McDermott, the program accumulated a record of 460-211 and 231-129 in conference games.
Under his guidance, Creighton had 15 first-team all-conference selections, six conference Players of the Year, three Newcomers of the Year, three Freshmen of the Year and three Defensive Players of the Year. CU has also had six All-American honorees in that time, including Doug McDermott, the first player in 30 years to be named a First Team All-American by the AP in three straight seasons.
Before joining the staff at then Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton in 1998, he already had an extensive background in the Valley as a starter at UNI under coach Eldon Miller. DeVries ranks 31st all-time in career scoring at UNI with 1,084 points and was twice an MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selection. The two-time UNI captain led the Panthers in three-point shooting three years and converted on 44 percent of his attempts as a senior with 3.1 assists per game.
DeVries was a standout athlete in high school at Aplington-Parkersburg (Iowa), and in the spring of 2015 was inducted into the IHSAA Hall of Fame for his playing prowess. The oldest of five siblings, DeVries’ family boasts a tremendous academic pedigree with all five competing collegiately. His brother, Jared, was an All-American on the football team at the University of Iowa and was a 12-year member of the Detroit Lions, while another brother, Dusty, also played football for the Hawkeyes. His youngest brother, Jay, played football at Wartburg College and his sister, Jodi, was a Second Team All-MVC selection in volleyball at Northern Iowa.
Darian and his wife, Ashley, have a son, Tucker, and a daughter, Tatum.
